Temasek-backed Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart files for IPO, to raise 21.5 billion rupees in fresh issue

[BENGALURU] India’s biggest eyewear retailer Lenskart has filed for an initial public offering, which includes the issue of fresh shares worth 21.5 billion rupees (S$319 million), its draft prospectus showed on Tuesday (Jul 29).

Large shareholders of the company, known as “promoters”, will also cumulatively sell 132.3 million shares. These include Japan’s SoftBank, Mumbai-based private equity firm Kedaara and Singapore state investor Temasek.

Incorporated in 2010, Lenskart is valued at US$6.1 billion as of Jun 13, data from Traxcn showed. It is the largest retailer of eyewear in the country, followed by Specsmakers and ClearDekho.

Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital Holdings and Citi are among the lead bookrunning managers for the IPO.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to set up new company-owned, company-operated (CoCo) stores across the country, invest in technology and cloud infrastructure, and for general corporate purposes, the draft prospectus said.

The company’s total debt stands at 4.97 billion rupees, as of fiscal year ended March 2024, according to Traxcn data. REUTERS